Here at #TEAMw21 it feels like we might live to see the Polar caps melt before we ever officially get to hear "Before The Ice Melts" - however while we wait for that particular track to land, Katy Hurt has decided to go back in time and knock the desert dust off of "Revved Up" giving it a bit of reworking and adding in the presence of R-SON the self styled "Voice Of Reason".
Originally this tale of outlaws on the run came with some ZZ Top style southern blues guitar leading the way - now it has more of an unplugged banjo, finger clicking and a drum beat as a guide.
What was the bridge now becomes a recurring verse, maybe enhancing the Bonnie & Clyde nature of this particular escapade.
"I lean over and kiss your neck
I guess we got away with it
Ooo the way you make me feel
I wanna find something else to steal
I'm revved up"
The original verse 1 becomes verse 2 and Katy's vocals that always had a rap element in their delivery seem more fitting in their new surroundings. The chorus is now sung over a mixture of drum beats.
It is over 2 and a half minutes in before R-SON make his presence felt
"Get the green to get lost
So we ride like the wind a la Christopher Cross!
The Border, then we toss the mask and gear into the Rio
Grande - if a plan change got to keep the heat though
Me and me amigo Katy H, unexpected hood with a pretty baby face
I'm staying on the run honey gotta keep our heads up
Foot on the pedal so we stay all revved up"
It's fair to say that this one somewhat split the office here at #TEAMw21, it's an interesting summer diversion that might garner Katy some off genre fans while we wait for the gem that has been tucked up Katy's sleeve for far too long!!
Maybe it was Wimbledon or the Euro's but Katy's last single slipped past us entirely which was a shame so her latest release affords us a chance to revisit "Oh Girl".
Compared to the hubbub or "Revved Up" this is a more subdued affair - yet it is exactly the sort of waters that Katy can swim in like a Great White for she does it so well. It was apparently the last track written for her long promised album and maybe it benefits from that, in that it is presented relatively simply not far off from it's original creation.
The opening is played out to just Katy and an acoustic guitar, towards the end of the verse an electric guitar will add a flourish or two. It lets Katy sing at her most honest, not having to compete with a band. The question is who is she singing to?
"Oh girl
Why'd you have to feel this way?
Oh girl
Is there something that you wanna say?
Yeah what's been weighing heavy on your mind?
What's been taking up your time?"
The official press release line we believe is that the lyrics are for a close friend who was going through hard times, and it surely addresses the struggles that all of us at one time or another face, that can seem overwhelming and impossible to escape from. Personally speaking, it would seem to become all the more powerful if this was a song of introspection and that the person being addressed by Katy was actually herself - not that we wish to burden Katy with inner demons!
"Why'd you have to feel so sad?
Oh why
Is it really all that bad?
Yeah what's been happening in your head?
Is it something you can't forget?"
The second verse has a Lady A feel to it as the bass and percussion kick in. Katy's vocals are to found effortlessly wrapping themselves around the melody.
The chorus brings home that odd situation, that sometimes others can see your own predicament clearer than yourself and that maybe things are not as bad as you perceive them to be.
"Cause from where I see it
Yeah you should be on top of the world
And I can't help you
If you don't wanna help yourself
No I can't believe that
Someone could hold so much hurt"
The final verse offers the light at the end of the tunnel, the helping hand.
"It's time
You get out of your own way
Sometimes
You've just gotta let things lay
Yeah you don't have to do this to yourself
Quit messing up your health"
With a beautiful guitar solo and Katy providing her own harmonies this is surely showcasing her talents at their finest. As we forever preach "Less is more", the road of subtle storytelling is surely the one Katy is meant to tread.
Two slices of Katy, each entertaining in their own way - one a polaroid, a snapshot of a heady day one summer, the other deserves a frame and should be hung on a wall somewhere - Let's see what Katy does next - although if it is not to release "Before The Ice Melts" we may have to go and steal the Master tapes.